Love is full of surprises.
—Excerpt from Finding Mr. Right-for-You by Dr. Kate
Kate tidied the kitchen, then straightened the seasonings on the wooden rack. Two more minutes. Each one passed like a turtle on Valium.
All day she’d tried to reach Lucas. When she called the shop, Ethan said he was out, yet he didn’t answer at home. No one picked up at his parents’ house, and her e-mails went unanswered. They were probably embarrassed by Lucas’s betrayal. But maybe they’d been interviewed too. Maybe they were splitting the bounty and taking a trip to Europe to celebrate.
A dish towel fell to the floor and Kate kicked it, leaving it crumpled between the fridge and cabinet. No one from Rosewood had returned her calls either. She’d phoned Ronald first thing that morning, but he hadn’t been able to reach Paul or Chloe. It seemed she had become persona non grata. They had to know about the exclusive. They were probably angry with her for letting it happen. As if I had a choice.
“Kate, it’s coming on,” her dad called from the living room.
Kate entered the room where her dad perched on the edge of the brown sofa, his elbows on his knees.
Kate sat beside him and hugged the chenille pillow to her stomach. A barrier for the coming sucker punch.
The NewsWire theme song played as the logo appeared. They showed previews of the upcoming segments, including the same preview she’d seen the night before. The first segment began, but it wasn’t Lucas’s.
When they cut to a commercial. Kate released her breath. “I hope it’s not last.”
Her dad crossed his legs at the knee. “It might be.”
She’d waited all day, a nervous ball of energy. Why hadn’t Lucas returned her calls? Why hadn’t anyone returned them? Was he too ashamed to face her? He should be.
“Want some coffee?” Her dad asked. “I can put on a pot.”
Kate shook her head. “I feel like I could run across water as it is.”
When the show returned, they focused on the TV, but it was a segment about trans fats in restaurant food.
Kate wondered what questions they would ask Lucas. Would he tell them she’d cried herself to sleep on their honeymoon? Would he tell them his mom disliked her from the beginning because of whose daughter she was? Would he tell them about the special moments—the ones when they forgot their marriage was an arrangement?
Fear sucked the moisture from her mouth. Kate felt as if she stood on the gallows, with a thick rope at her neck, waiting for the floor to open. And there was nothing she could do but wait.
The segment ended and another commercial break ensued. It was half past the hour.
“Hang in there, Kate. Whatever comes, I’ll be here for you.” Her dad reached over and squeezed her cold hand.
“Thanks, Daddy.” She couldn’t sit anymore. She stood and walked to the patio door. Outside, darkness swallowed the yard and a sliver of moon peeked from behind a curtain of clouds. She kept remembering the last days with Lucas, the way he’d kissed her that night, She’d never felt more cared for, more cherished.
And now he’s airing our dirty laundry on national TV. It doesn’t make sense.
“It’s back on,” her dad said.
Kate returned to the living room, stopping behind the recliner. Evan Greggory began a segment about the sole survivor of a ferry accident overseas. They were saving Lucas’s segment for last, which showed they viewed it as important. They must’ve gotten some juicy material from Lucas.
The ferry segment seemed to last forever. A long commercial break followed. Kate’s heart rate tripled as she waited for the commercials to end. This was it. There was only twelve minutes remaining—only enough time for Lucas’s story.
When the program returned, her dad cranked up the volume. The camera panned in on Nancy Lopez. “Welcome back to NewsWire.” She turned to a different camera. “She is the queen of relationships and the author of recent self-help book Finding Mr. Right-for-You.”
Nancy held up a copy of the book. “Dr. Kate’s book was released with much media attention on her wedding day this summer, and it soared to the bestseller’s list.”
Kate nearly rolled her eyes. The book had barely made it to the bottom of the bestseller’s list, achieving less than Rosewood had hoped.
Nancy continued. “But Dr. Kate’s career recently turned upside down when it was revealed that her real fiancé, Bryan Montgomery, left her at the altar, and that Dr. Kate impulsively entered a loveless marriage arrangement with Nantucket native Lucas Wright as a last-ditch effort to save her book from certain death.
“Little is known about the terms of the arrangement or Dr. Kate’s feelings on the matter, but NewsWire has gained an exclusive interview with the man who found himself at the altar with marriage expert Dr. Kate.” Nancy smiled and turned as the camera cut to Lucas. “Welcome to the show, Mr. Wright.”
Kate honed in on Lucas. He’d shaved, and his hair was combed neatly off his face as it had been at their wedding. He wore a dress shirt and tie she’d never seen. He thanked Nancy.
“Can you tell us how you knew Dr. Kate and for how long before the wedding?”
Lucas shifted subtly. He was uncomfortable. Good.
“Kate had been on the island for three years,” Lucas began. “She was born there, but her family left when she was young. I didn’t know her then. When she moved back, she wanted to open an office in town. She rented the space over my shop.”
“Can you tell us what happened on the day of her wedding?”
He nodded slowly. “I was working in my shop that morning. Actually I was putting the finishing touches on the gazebo she’d asked me to make.”
“For her wedding with Bryan Montgomery?”
“Yes. She’d hired me to build it months earlier. Kate came to the shop to check on it because I was supposed to have delivered it already. When she was there, she got a call from her fiancé.”
“Mr. Montgomery?”
“Yes. I only heard her end of the conversation, but it was enough to tell me he wasn’t going through with the wedding.”
“What was Kate’s state of mind after the phone call?”
Lucas tilted back, and he shook his head. “She was devastated. She was trembling.” He gave a sad smile. “You’d have to know Kate to know how unlike herself she was after that phone call. She’s the most calm, capable individual I’ve ever met. She’s the kind of person you want during a crisis because she—She just takes care of things. But it was five hours before her wedding, and her groom just left her at the altar, and with the publicity surrounding the release of the book . . . who wouldn’t panic?”
“How did you come to be part of the solution?” Nancy asked.
“It was my idea. It might seem impulsive and foolish, but it seemed like the only solution at the time. She needed a groom, and I wanted to help her.”
“That’s some help. Why would you agree to step in and save her wedding?”
Lucas looked down at his lap and paused a moment. “The reason I gave Kate was that I needed her help on a personal project.”
“But that wasn’t the real reason, I take it,” Nancy said.
“No.”
“What?” Kate whispered, staring at the screen.
“We’ll get back to that in a moment,” Nancy continued. “What were the terms of the arrangement?”
Lucas’s mouth tilted in a smile as if remembering the moment. “There had to be an escape clause. We agreed to remain married for a year.”
“Was there a contract between you? Financial arrangements?”
“It wasn’t like that. We knew each other well enough to trust one another. We kept our finances separate.”
“And no money exchanged hands?”
A pink flushed climbed Lucas’s neck. He looked like a bashful schoolboy. “She didn’t pay me for the honor of being her husband, if that’s what you mean.”
Nancy’s smile made it clear she was captivated by Lucas’s charm.
“Can you define your relationship with Dr. Kate prior to the wedding? Were you lovers, friends . . ?”
Lucas ran his fingers between his neck and collar. “No, we weren’t lovers. I guess you could say we were friends. We spent quite a bit of time together when I renovated her space into an office and apartment. She lived and worked above my shop, so we saw each other frequently.” His smile tilted. “Kate probably would’ve said we were acquaintances. I think I got on her nerves a bit.”
“You say that like you enjoyed it.”
Lucas smiled. “Little bit.”
Kate squeezed the cushion on the back of the recliner, unable to take her eyes off Lucas.
Nancy continued. “You’ve denied being paid to marry Dr. Kate, and you’ve hinted that the reason you gave her was false.” The camera cut to Lucas’s face while Nancy stated the question. “Why did you stand in as her groom?”
Lucas looked down at his lap, his smile faltering. He swallowed.
Kate wondered for a long moment if he was going to freeze as he had so long ago on a school gym stage. She found herself pulling for him, wanting to help him formulate an answer.
But then he spoke. “I wanted to help her. If you’d seen her after that phone call—she was panicked. Afraid. Hurt.” Lucas shrugged. “I wanted to help.”
“Why?” Nancy asked.
Kate leaned forward, her breath on hope’s threshold.
He gave a sad little smile. As his head tilted down, his hair fell forward, partially covering his eyes. Then he looked back at Nancy. “I love her,” he said in a throaty voice.
Kate sucked in her breath. She stared into his familiar face and felt an ache behind her eyes. He loves me? He married me . . . because he loves me? But his parents’ marriage—
The camera stayed on Lucas even though he stopped talking. He was clearly uncomfortable, like he wanted to squirm right out of the starchy suit.
He filled the silence. “When I saw how upset she was, I wanted to fix it for her.” He lifted one shoulder. “Maybe I was a little selfish too. Maybe I thought if she was mine for a year, she’d somehow fall in love with me too.” He shifted, looking away. “I was trying to save her wedding. I know it might seem like I took advantage. She was vulnerable. But I wanted to help her. I came up with the idea and convinced her it was the only solution. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me.”
He went blurry as Kate’s eyes filled. She blinked, not wanting anything blocking her view of Lucas’s face.
The camera cut to Nancy. “In reality, you were only married three months. What was it like?”
“Being married to Kate?” He smiled. “Great. Fun. Challenging.”
“Challenging because . . . ?”
Lucas tugged at his suit coat. “Because I love her. Because I wanted the marriage to be real, and it wasn’t.” He paused, looking down again. “In three months she solved problems that have been in place for years. She’s got this deep well of wisdom . . . I don’t know where it comes from. If something’s broken, she fixes it.”
“Except your heart?”
The camera slowly closed in on Lucas’s face. His jaw clenched, then loosened. “I’m not sure she knows she broke it.”
Nancy smiled. “She does now. It’s fairly common knowledge that Kate left the island shortly after the scandal erupted. Can you give us your thoughts on that?”
Lucas sucked in a breath and blew it out. He shifted.
Kate wanted to brush the hair out of his face, run her palm down his tense jawline and kiss away the frown on his lips.
“I didn’t want her leave. I asked her to stay.”
“But she didn’t.”
“No.”
“Was she still in love with her former fiancé?” Nancy asked.
“I asked her that. She said she wasn’t, and I believed her.”
The camera cut to Nancy as she studied Lucas, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Why are you here today? What do you hope to accomplish?”
“I wanted to tell Kate’s side of the story. I wanted to take responsibility for my part in it . . .” Lucas pulled at his tie.
The camera cut to Nancy. “Anything else?”
Lucas looked down, then met Nancy’s eyes again. “I wanted to tell her what I was afraid to say before she left.”
He swallowed, then looked at the camera, his eyes burning into Kate’s. She locked onto his face, feeling as if he were right in front of her, right now.
Lucas’s chin came up.
Kate watched his lips, waiting.
“I want to tell her I love her,” he said.
Kate put her hand against her chest, squeezed the stiff material of her shirt.
Nancy paused for a full three seconds, letting the words sink in. “On national TV?”
He gave his crooked smile. “I guess I’m laying it all on the line. I love her. I have for a long time, and I always will.” He looked down again.
“That’s a lot of pressure for a girl,” Nancy said.
Lucas shook his head. “Hope not. That wasn’t my intention. Kate’s entitled to make her own choices, to choose her own life. I just want her to have all the facts before she does.”
Nancy said something that tied the story into a neat bow, then signed off. Kate’s dad flipped off the TV. Without the light and noise of the TV, the room fell into darkness and silence. Her mind whirled faster than a carnival ride.
“Well.” Her dad flipped on the lamp.
Kate’s legs felt wooden as she rounded the recliner and sank into it. She was shaking, her hands and legs trembling uncontrollably. He loves me. He’s loved me from the beginning.
She felt a sudden, inexorable need to talk to him. To see him.
“Do you love him, Kate?” Her dad’s voice broke through her thoughts.
Do I love him? She remembered the way he held her on the sailboat when she was sick. Remembered the way he held her when the scandal broke. Remembered how treasured she felt when he looked at her, touched her.
“Yes,” she whispered.
But they were so different. It was why she’d left. She didn’t want to wind up like—
My parents? Well, I’ve already discovered how wrong I was on that one. It wasn’t their differences that broke them apart but her dad’s disorder.
But even with that understanding, her heart faltered in fear. What am I afraid of? That I’m going to wind up alone and desperate like Mom?
But I can’t control the future, can I God? I can’t even control the present. I just have to seek Your guidance and take one step at a time. Look how meticulously I planned my engagement and wedding. And still, it all fell apart.
Even after all she’d learned through the media debacle, she’d left Nantucket and Lucas without seeking God’s will. Would she never learn? Why did she continually forge ahead with her own plans? Did her obsessive need to plan stem from a desperate desire for control?
Kate remembered the conversation she’d had with Brody that day on the widow’s walk. “I’m not afraid of heights so much as I’m afraid of falling,” she’d said. Was that her problem? Why she’d nearly married a man she didn’t love? Why she’d been in such a hurry to leave the man she did love? She was afraid of becoming her mom. Afraid of becoming like the hundreds of women she’d counseled.
Kate gave a wry laugh. Some psychotherapist she was. She was only now figuring out that she was avoiding love.
“You think you should call him?” her dad asked.
She wanted to tell Lucas she loved him. She wanted to say she was sorry for leaving. A shiver of fear snaked its way up her spine. What if it didn’t work? What if he broke her heart? What should I do, God? I’m asking this time. I want Your plan, not mine.
Her advice to Brody came back to her: “It’s fear that makes an act courageous.” Do I have the courage to love him back?
“I don’t know what to do, but I know I need to do what God wants this time.
“God wants you to save your marriage.”
Kate looked at her dad. Was it as simple as that?
“Go to him, Kate. Save your marriage.”
He was right. Kate straightened. She was ready to put it all on the line, like Lucas had. Ready to follow God’s plan for a change.
And she wanted to do it face-to-face. She wanted to touch him, feel the strength of his arms around her when she said the words.
“I’ll do it,” she said.
Her dad nodded.
She checked her watch. “I can be there by morning if I drive to Hyannis and take the ferry.”
“And drive all night? Kate . . .”
“I have to see him.” She had to tell him she loved him. She could take a flight, but then her car would be here. No, it was settled. She’d never be able to sleep anyway. She might as well spend the night closing the distance between them.